Those of us who are fans of professional clubs (*cough* Vikings *cough) who have never won shit and have seen their team come up craps at the worst possible times from childhood well into middle age can feel free to mock douchnozzles like this:

The greatest choke in baseball history ended the only way it could have ended, with the Red Sox gagging on the Camden Yards lawn one last time.
Truly unbelievable. This feels like revenge for 2004 and 2007.

So sayeth Boston writer Dan Shaughnessey.

First, of all -- considering this same franchise won two championships in the last seven years (after a haitus of more the 3/4 of a century as their fans never tired of telling us -- see pretty much every hour of Ken Burns' Baseball) AND won in 2004 because their hated rival blew a 3-0 game lead in a best of seven series (speaking of "chokes" greater than this self-congratulatory greatest choke) you should just shut the fuck up already.

While they were mocked and ignored until Tony Bologna decided to be a minor-league Bull Connor the protests on Wall Street are gathering momentum – here come the veterans:

...as the action nears the start of its third week, unions and community groups are eager to jump on board. They are motivated perhaps by a sense of solidarity and a desire to tap into its growing success, but undoubtedly by something else too—embarrassment that a group of young people using Twitter and Facebook have been able to draw attention to progressive causes in a way they haven't been able to in years.

Well, the right-wing and media mockery will flow now that the unions are getting involved...I guess protests that aren't underwritten by the Koch Brothers -- $11 billion richer the couple years as they laid off thousands, those job creators -- are not very "Murican".
Meanwhile, the Greeks, if not their government, know how to do a protest as well.

International experts with the task of compiling a crucial review of Greece's fiscal progress ran into trouble before they could even start the job as public-sector workers protesting against wage cuts, layoffs and higher taxes locked them out of office buildings.

Once Newt Gingrich traveled first-class all the way thanks to the money he was able to attract as a possible non-running Republican contender, especially in his own mind.
First Class flights weren’t good enough…no they must be chartered.
Campaigning via occasional Sunday morning news program appearances was exhausting, let’s go on a nice cruise for a few weeks.
And you certainly cannot poll in the single-digits without a little bling.
All these wise political decisions surely showed Newt was qualified a Republican. How’d that all work out?

A floundering presidential bid has fractured what was once a rock star Republican image. Not long ago, Newt Gingrich sat atop a lucrative political empire, the sought-after intellectual guru of the GOP.
Now, all but broke, he's traveling coach.

The real tragedy of this is Newt is now depriving non-wealthy people of seat-belt-extenders and complimentary bags of four small pretzels.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

Al-Qaida has sent a message to the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asking him to stop spreading conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks.

i.e. stop crediting Jews for our handiwork.
To further add the the beyond the looking-glass nature of it all, Al Qaeda accused Iran of being insincerely Anti-American.
So there.
So very uplifting isn't it?

Activists have identified the senior New York Police Department officer who allegedly pepper-sprayed young women at the "Occupy Wall Street" protests, and it's not the first time he has been accused of civil rights abuses.
The Guardian confirmed that the officer is Anthony Bologna, who was also accused of civil rights abuses and false arrest during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City.
Photographs of the officer's badge also suggested that Bologna was the person in question.
A file released by the hacker group Anonymous pointed to a 2007 civil rights suit filed against Bologna.
Post A. Posr, the man named as a plaintiff in that suit, was arrested during the 2004 convention although he wasn't actively taking part in the protests.

It is unknown whether Officer Tony Bologna once danced to 'Boney Moroney'.

the Alabama town of Bay Minette was poised to implement an unconstitutional plan that would effectively allow minor offenders to be sentenced to a year of church attendance, under penalty of imprisonment if they missed a Sunday service. In the wake of national press attention widely condemning the unconstitutional plan, the town will delay implementing the program in order to re-examine whether the plan is legal.

Well it appears that the latest attempt to draft a prospective Republican candidate has run aground. Chris Christie and his hip-waders are staying in New Jersey.
So the desperate search for a tool of the bankers who knows little about economics and is just crazy enough goes on.
Who are the prospective non-running candidates now?
Well, there's this crazy person.

Speaking to a Cary rotary club today, N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue suggested suspending Congressional elections for two years so that Congress can focus on economic recovery and not the next election.

Oh suspending elections, that's how it should work in a Democracy.
Sign this person up Karl Rove.
Oh, wait, she's a Democrat?
What a country! What a blessed variety of choices we are given.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

I'm sure many of you were sleepless today wondering how the U.S. did in the Rugby World Cup...what's that, "the what?" -- Oh that thing that served as a vehicle for Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman? Yes, that one.
But in their ever moronic plan to compete with ESPN, NBC will not allow anyone with any interest in checking out the sport to actually watch it live by broadcasting in the sport starving channel they just bought "VS". No, they make sure that the only people that see these matches are those who will pay $25 to watch one match (Namibia vs. Georgia must have been a real eye grabber) -- which is a little expensive for the merely slightly curious.
Oh, and they lost of course -- it's a sport the Brits invented (or claim to) so naturally we're not very good.

According to the United Nations Population Fund counters, Halloween will be the approximate date when the 7 billionth human will be born on to our planet

That's only about 6.5 billion more than when this nation declared Independence and five billion more than were around at the time World War II broke out. I'm sure this is really good for natural resource use and global climate change.
Thank goodness there are so many new proles to support the only people that matter ... the really wealthy.
I'm sure as time goes by, nothing bad will ever come of this fact. So why raise the super-rich's taxes? All those gated-communities will come with an adequate amount of wall space for lining up against.*
*ooh, class warfare
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that the adult website AshleyMadison.com has offered the Palins $1 million to prove their innocence.
EXCLUSIVE DOCUMENT: Sarah Palin Offered Big Payday To Take Polygraph

I myself am not convinced Sarah Palin has ever cheated on Todd -- that would require more than half-hearted efforts.
Maybe some dry-humping, but after that she'd just get bored and quit.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

And assembly is for crazy racists in tri-corner hats ONLY.
Thou Shalt not pay attention to those protesting large scale thieves until they are forcibly removed for having the temerity to engage in said fictional rights.
These Wall Street Protesters were arrested by cops because they are made about being fleeced by the rich...worse than usual.
But if these fuckers were calling for these cops to be stripped of their pensions, salaries, and collective bargaining rights -- they'd be able to sit there and waive their fake Kenyan Birth Certificates as much as they'd fucking like.

Hypothetical rich people relating to hypothetical stories to hypothetical humans (but actual Republicans) and having their tender stories of minor increases in taxes being relayed to hypothetical journalists on FoxNews..."we're going to have to kill one of our children to afford the country club" and having it told with hypothetical sympathy.
Poor country clubs.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's (R) spokesman, plus two supporters, have now been granted immunity in the ongoing campaign finance investigation of former aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), from Walker's time as Milwaukee County Executive.

The solicitor who represented the family of Milly Dowler in their phone-hacking claims against News Corporation on Friday announced he has teamed up with US lawyers with a view to initiating proceedings targetting Rupert Murdoch and his son James...
He says he intends to assess whether he can launch a class action against News Corp using American foreign corruption laws, which make it illegal for US companies to pay bribes to government officials abroad.

Friday, September 23, 2011

He lives in Canada so he couldn't so easily spend his time doing something more pleasant to him, like watch the FoxNews Republican debate where he could boo gay soldiers, make fun of a black guy, or wish someone would die.
So all he had left is this.

Fan Throws A Banana Peel At Black Player In Tonight’s Flyers/Red Wings Game

Barcelona's emblematic Sagrada Família church finally
has a completion date — 2026 or 2028, more than 140 years after it was
started.

When they started Sagrada Familia there were
no cars, the United States was led by President Chester “Mutton Chops”
Arthur, and the war Europe was recovering from was the Franco-Prussian
one, leaving France a few “Republics” short of the current model.
So how many people think this will be done before we withdraw from Afghanistan and/or Iraq?

At least Barcelona will end up with something of value for a lot less money and blood.

Comforting to know that being put to death without any physical evidence and seven of nine witnesses recanting is still possible in this country. And they say things aren't like they used to be in 'Murica. [Engage USA! chant macro]
But in the zero sum game that is real modern America I suppose we are to be further comforted that a plainly guilty white supremacist murderer was executed to balance things off. This happened in Texas -- or as it is known there under Rick Perry, just another Wednesday.
But I'm just an unrepentant liberal and I just don't believe in executing anybody. Obviously it is people like me who are the real problem.
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

The guy who helps lead Peter Peterson's 'Billionaires against non-Billionaires' coalition of budget assholes (and helped Bush eliminate the Clinton-era surplus and drive up the deficit in the first place)is upset about the baseline math of the Obama plan.
So it must have struck a nerve -- an "OMG, somebody is actually doing something and our scolding will be diminished...oh and we might have to pay slightly more taxes THIS MUST DIE!"

I understand there was a slap fight between two gigantic douchebags over Sarah Palin.
That's Greta's gravy train the fish-stick heir is insulting -- even though from appearances they might as well have a collective fit over who has had more botox between them.

It is a day ending in "Y" it must be time to call Democrats traitors.
There's no nation ripe and awaiting a good thorough bombing, so it must be about really rich people having to pay a few more dollars in taxes, like Ronald Reagan required -- only less.
Well, we cannot have that.

Majority Of Fox Panel Agrees That Poor, Middle Class Should Be The Ones Paying More Of Their Fair Share.

If I can make an analogy -- unless that is only allowed for Republicans who can only govern by analogy -- there is this one Ron Paul supporter who parks in my garage. Both he and I are always amongst the first people to park every morning. There are adjoining spots close to the elevator that he and I park in every day. The private company that runs the garage ask that you not park a care that extends past the blue line they paint across those particular spaces. I drive an Altima so no problem for me. He, on the other hand drives an SUV so everyday that Ron Paul bestickered beast extends over the line about two feet. This person is such a libertarian he won't even live by a private property owner's rules.
He has another bumper sticker next to the Ron Paul one, it says "The Deficit is our Greatest Problem". But God forbid tax increases be part of that. It wouldn't be patriotic -- as only he is allowed to define it.

"Bachmann says vaccine retardation claim not hers" — that she was simply "relaying what a woman had said...I wasn't attesting to her accuracy. I wasn't attesting to anything."

So why does she keep bringing it up?
People tell me all the time that Michele Bachmann barely has the necessary ganglia for breathing, which must be true as it was related to me. And let's not even get into what people say about her husband and their gaydar going off.

Paul Ryan has now cried havoc and 'Class War' on Obama's plan to make the rich pay taxes (he likes slavery well-enough though). OMG, a modest tax increase on millionaires that reduces the "greatest evil of all time" the deficit...why it's ...it's....it's still class warfare. In which case bring it, because it hasn't been much of a war so far, just panzers driving over us proles.
But within Ryan's generations old playbook lies a deeper truth in how Republicans get away with it...and not just the unstated one that the talking heads on TV are more than eligible to have their taxes raised...no it is also this:

Who believes they'll be a millionaire?
About two in 10 Americans do

In reality only 1 in 20 households are millionaires and that is simply in total assets, not revenue stream, that number is microscopic...but not so small that Jack Welch isn't considered by cable news to be a "common man". And as long as there are enough "suckers" buying and "manipulators" selling the Horatio Alger story that will not ever be, the GOP can keep this Randian myth going.
(pic via Monkey_Bob99x at flickr.com)
[cross-posted at Firedoglake]

OMG, a modest tax increase on millionaires that reduces the "greatest evil of all time" the deficit...why it's ...it's....it's still class warfare.
In which case bring it, because it hasn't been much of a war so far, just panzers driving over us proles.

In a week when it was doubted even by sympathizers that he wrote an editorial on Israel in which he claimed authorship -- "Eight hundred words? That's not the Rick Perry I know" -- sudden events changed everything:

Security forces in Yemen have opened fire on protesters in the capital, Sanaa, killing at least 26 people and injuring hundreds

Rick Perry's need to kill as many people as possible has run smack into his desire to be seen as not wanting to kill as many people as possible. As such, Rick Perry will not kill everyone at this time -- with the possible benefit he will get to kill as many people as he wants later.
YEE-HAW!

Boehner left the distinct impression that 219 new regulations were hanging like a Sword of Damocles over the U.S. economy. But it turns out the number of potential regulations is inflated, as well as the potential impact. Many of the regulations may turn out to have substantial costs, but others could have benefits, as a report on the speaker’s Web site makes clear. Boehner wins points for admitting he may have overstated his case, but overall his statement contained significant factual errors.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

"The candidates at the Republican debate looked like a town council that was outlawing dancing. They looked like a board of directors that was lying about poisoning a river. You could smell Rick Perry’s cologne through the TV."
---David Letterman

As thousands watched in horror, a World War II-era fighter plane competing in a Nevada event described as a car race in the sky suddenly pitched upward, rolled and did a nose-dive toward the crowded grandstand.

The plane, flown by a 74-year-old veteran Hollywood stunt pilot, then slammed into the concrete in a section of VIP box seats and blew to pieces in front the pilot's family and a tight-knit group of friends who attend the annual event in Reno.

I thought this would require calling out the Pinkertons? And apparently, via this Kos diary, if the "Job Creators" (btw thanks for ruining every fucking thing Frank Luntz) are on strike, who are they on strike against?

Oh how awesome a bipartisan coalition of rich guys having voted to spend trillions invading and occupying a foreign land show their true patriotism toward those of us who are barely worthy of the term citizen to them:

Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., has assembled a group comprising 36 members of the Senate to pressure the so-called deficit reduction "super committee" to seek deficit reductions beyond the minimum called for in last month's debt deal.

The group of 18 Republicans, 17 Democrats and one independent...asks that entitlement reform and tax reform be included in the effort, and that the $3.7 trillion "Gang of Six" debt reduction plan

Al Qaeda spent roughly half a million dollars to destroy the World Trade Center and cripple the Pentagon. What has been the cost to the United States? In a survey of estimates by The New York Times, the answer is $3.3 trillion

And who better to put his imprimatur upon this coalition then Ol' Droopy:

The white person who does not mind transacting business with a black bank clerk may yet be averse to accepting the clerk as his sister-in-law, and THIS IS NOT RACISM, no matter what Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Washington tell us.”

Something tells me that Robert Stacey McCain's only real interaction with black people involves a virtual visit with Heather Hunter for a deposit in his spank bank.

"NASA will host a news briefing at 11 a.m. PDT, Thursday, Sept. 15, to announce a new discovery by the Kepler mission. The briefing will be held in the Syvertson auditorium, building N-201, at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. ... A representative from Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), a division of Lucasfilm Ltd., will join a panel of scientists to discuss the discovery. "

On the other hand maybe they just want to announce how much they hate sand?

While both parties "out austerity" each other into following the modern Greek model as opposed to the old and busted democratic one -- their potential Party nominees are truly loved. We all know the lack of enthusiasm in the base seemingly embraced by the Obama campaign, but what of the Republicans and their sterling new secessionist front-runner?

Perry is building much of his lead off the support of Republican primary voters who believe things that are well out of the mainstream of overall American public opinion. For instance:

-Perry leads Romney only 27-23 among GOP voters opposed to ending Medicare. But with the 12% who do support eliminating it Perry leads Romney 43-5, accounting for much of his overall lead...

-Romney leads Perry 23-18 among GOP voters who believe in global warming...but that's only 27% of them. With the 62% who don't believe in it Perry's up 38-14. One interesting note on those numbers- Perry's favorability with Republicans who believe in global warming is 37/50. Are those folks going to vote for him in the general election if he ends up as the nominee?

I don't know about the last one -- I imagine as they will think they'll get a tax cut in the bargain they'll go along. The poll just reaffirms that the modern GOP is more of a cult than a Party. If Ayn Rand's government medicare could have kept her alive long enough to see her dreams come true.

CBS News has learned that barely five hours after American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq — even though there was no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the attacks.

Maybe we should give Pat Tillman's family or a few others with similar stories a chance to offend the poor man alone in a small room?

Although the more relevant question would not have been about the person who had the money but eschewed health insurance, but the 50-year old who lost his job and cannot afford his COBRA premium and then gets sick.

I bet the "let him die" folks would be totally okay with that one too -- they don't believe in Darwin unless it affects who gets to die.

Well this was typical, the most nerve-wracking moment of Dubya's Presidency according to Bunnypants himself was tossing out a pitch during the World Series.

Which is somewhat similar to me as I was only nervous once during his presidency and that was continuously.

But that moment (give or take eight years) of insanity pales in comparison to this:

...but radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh warned Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s competitors that he will go to bat for Perry if they choose to attack him over his claim that Social Security is a “Ponzi scheme.”

So says the multimillionaire to his flock of sheep, many of whom are reliant upon...Social Security.

I know that yesterday most Americans were supposed to solemnly remember how 9-11 was the worst of times and the best of Giuliani Times, at least until 1 p.m. Eastern when the NFL season kicked off.

But leave it to Paul Krugman to ruin this most sacred day by being a downer (must be a Colts fan):

Fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror. And then the attack was used to justify an unrelated war the neocons wanted to fight, for all the wrong reasons.

A lot of other people behaved badly. How many of our professional pundits — people who should have understood very well what was happening — took the easy way out, turning a blind eye to the corruption and lending their support to the hijacking of the atrocity?

4. But not as much as the Fox Robot, now with its own twitter account where you can feel free to use the hashtag #diejustfuckingdie!

--- Speaking of which, WTF? What Michael Bey-Inspired Circle of Hell hath wrought this?!!! And Hugh Jackman this is a betrayal of what those adamantium claws stand for (other than no masturbating -- which explains what makes Wolverine so cranky*)!

5. Finally -- and most obviously -- How your team does will either be a reflection of how much your town and/or region sucks; or alternatively will be achieved despite how much your town and/or region sucks.

* Author knows nothing about any comic-book universe but still feels this is probably accurate.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

It's been a while since I wrote you -- and in that time I hath fornicated many o' time, occasionally when not alone. You?

But that is not the purpose of this email. Not, I write because I notice you recently commented on civil disturbances in England (yet remained silent on Burlusconi, so I'm guessing hooker are alright and Italy is a shithole?). You commented,

last month's riots in England to the corrosive effects of "moral relativism," and warned that preserving social order requires government policies based on "enduring values."

The American Enterprise Institute hosted a talk with former Vice President Dick Cheney -- who's been promoting his controversial memoirs -- moderhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifator Stephen Hayes talked about how President Bush nearly cried in public, Condoleezza Rice burst into tears at home, and Hayes himself "broke down crying." Did Cheney have his own tearful moment? No.

"Not really," Cheney said.

Of course Stephen Hayes and Dick Cheney, that's a lot of fucking wrong on one small panel.

Jabouri, an Iraqi exile who runs al-Rai satellite TV in Syria, had Muammar Gaddafi on the line at 4am on Thursday, rallying his supporters, attacking his opponents as "rats and scumbags", vowing "never to leave the land of his ancestors", and denying claims he had already fled Libya for neighbouring Niger.

The former MP was self-effacing about his scoop and unembarrassed about throwing a media lifeline to the world's most wanted man. It was the fourth time he has spoken to Gaddafi – sounding "strong and confident" – since Tripoli fell to the Nato-backed rebels last month.

Oh how I hope there is an expression of "al-diddo". I understand Gaddafi is also making Rugby World Cup picks.

I didn't see it, did Obama open up with a line about how many people he's killed? Because that seems a real ice-breaker with Republicans.

I don't know about you, but I'm going to avoid Sunday's news programs and shows with a real vengeance. I really don't need the folks who thought invading and occupying countries not involved in 9/11 was sound policy tell me what to think now either. Not to mention we are just now learning some pertinent information about countries that did produce most of the hijackers.

There is, however, one truly marvelous story about that day and the photo journalists that were there. It is moving, disturbing, and brought back one particularly stark picture that I had managed not to think about for several years. I cannot recommend the story enough.

Thursday, September 08, 2011

The supernova, named SN 2011fe, is the 136th seen by astronomers this year, but its proximity makes it significant not only for stargazers but to the scientific community.

The event was first observed on Aug. 24, only hours after it first became visible from Earth. Located within the Pinwheel Galaxy, the explosion happened 21 million light-years away – a relatively small distance by astronomical standards.

On the scale of astronomical magnitude, in which brighter objects have lower numbers, it was a 17.2 – about 1 million times too dim to be seen by the naked eye.

Since then, “the supernova of a generation,” has been brightening by the minute and will hit its peak this week, said Joshua Bloom, assistant professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, in a press release.

By Friday, the supernova could hit magnitude 10, still below the 6.5-magnitude threshold to be seen with the naked eye, but visible with binoculars...

SN 2011fe is located in the constellation Ursa Major, better known as the Big Dipper. "The easiest way to find it is to take the last two stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, form an equilateral triangle heading north and bang, you’ll find the Pinwheel Galaxy,” said Nugent.

He said a pair of 80 mm binoculars would suffice to view the display, but a telescope with a lens measuring greater than three inches would be better.

I'm tired of Lucy and the football, let's have a new analogy for how tonight's speech will be perceived:

Oh the drama of a speech to Congress that gets rescheduled to accommodate Republicans only to have many of them not show up. One would think it is a sign, but in a Reaganesque move the President is sure there's a pony in that big pile somewhere.

There seems to be little hope that Obama is going to accept the reality -- or seemingly cares -- that the GOP is going to work with him on anything other than moving expenses (and they'll just pull the rug out on that one on January 19, 2013 too). Not allowing government to do anything but protect gated communities and release the predator drones otherwise is their raison d'être. The purpose of government is to show government cannot do anything -- don't take my word for it, take the word of a longtime Republican operative (the one only a few publications and we liberals have written about).

If you think Paul Ryan and his Ayn Rand-worshipping colleagues aren't after your Social Security and Medicare, I am here to disabuse you of your naiveté. They will move heaven and earth to force through tax cuts that will so starve the government of revenue that they will be "forced" to make "hard choices" - and that doesn't mean repealing those very same tax cuts, it means cutting the benefits for which you worked.

And the only Democrats that don't seem aware of this (emphasis on seem) are the one's that don't appear to give a damn.